


At the Horizon

by ishiiyan



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Canon, Gabe is double agent theory, M/M, teeth-rotting fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 10:05:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17119301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ishiiyan/pseuds/ishiiyan
Summary: Every year, Soldier 76 visits a certain park that holds a special place in his memories. Every year, the same pair of eyes watch him from afar. At first, those eyes had him guarded, but gradually over time, he'd accepted it's presence. Today was different, however. Those ghostly eyes have finally decided to step out from the shadows to reveal their true nature...





	At the Horizon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AngeNoir](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngeNoir/gifts).



> Hello! This is my first r76 fic and my gift for AngeNoir as part of the R76 Secret Santa 2018 exchange! This fic may be a bit ooc, as I consider myself still rather new to Overwatch and it's lore, but I tried my best and made it extra fluffy. I hope I fulfilled your request! I love these two very much. Enjoy :)

The air was cold— as it was during the holidays —the skies dawning an orange glow as the last hints of sun began to set.  
  
This day was always the same, in every which way, from its nippy weather to the snow-covered flower bushes, save for the ever aging rust of metal on the park’s swings.

Soldier 76 sat there, slumped on one of those swings; his favorite in fact. The swing set perched on top of a hill, providing the absolute perfect view of the setting horizon. To his knowledge, this secluded part of the park had never been touched, perhaps maybe even abandoned many years ago. He preferred it that way.

  
The old soul clasped his hands together, giving it a squeeze as to provide friction under his gloves for warmth. A sigh escaped from his lips as the same old influx of nostalgia fought through his mind.  
  
He comes here every year on this day and this day only. And each year, the scene was always the same. Right down to the eyes that seemed to burn into the back of his head.

  
At first, he had been caught off guard by the presence. That was almost a decade ago, and each year he gradually let his guard down, until those ghostly eyes became a part of the yearly scenery. It was an odd way to accept it, but he could no longer sense any trace of malice and decided to go with it. Funnily enough, the gaze seemed to _complete_ moment.

  
He never bothered to ask who the stranger was, just standing there, peering from their hidden spot within the tall, loosely formed hedge. After a few years, the soldier was able to take a guess at the identity of the visitor. But only now was he to find out the truth, as the yearly routine was broken by the crunching of snow behind him.

  
A flurry of emotions passed through him, the two that topped was a sense of excitement and anticipation. Why now did their practice have to change? What made things different?  
  
Two more footsteps. Still no sign of malcontent. The closer the hollow presence got, the closer he felt the familiarity. It had to be him.

  
It had to be.

  
“I should’ve known it’d been you, after all this time.”

Reaper’s footsteps stopped.

The soldier’s head glanced to his right, the side view of his mask reading the black robes he expected to see. Nothing was said in response to his statement; there was only silence. No sarcastic retort. No shot to the back. Not after a while anyways.  


“Jack.” Interesting. The first thing said with that raspy voice of his was a dead name.

  
Jack Morrison adjusted his spot on the swing to face the horizon once more. He felt uncomfortable hearing that name. _His_ name. But something about hearing it through the guise of Reaper’s unceremonious tone of voice made it bearable.

  
“Gabe.” Saying that almost made him chuckle.  
  
Gabriel Reyes said nothing.  
  
Another silence passes between them. They both knew why the other was there, on that specific day, but no attention was brought to it.

Eyes glancing to the floor, Jack noticed a fog of black smoke shifting through his shoes. The cloud stopped on the swing beside him, shifting back into Gabriel’s physical form.

  
  
“What took you so long to come out? You gonna kill me now or what?”

 

Gabriel’s head shifted from seemingly staring at nothing to the open sky of the sun’s dying rays. He wasn’t sure how to explain himself.

  
“I almost killed you before, Jack. I _had_ to. Talon’s always watching, no thanks to a certain associate of mine. I’m... lucky I was even able to get here under radar.”

 Jack turned to Gabriel, trying to read him through the holes of his mask. Unreadable.

  
  
“... What are you planning?”

 

“...”

 

“Gabe.”

 

“... I can’t tell you.”

 

“ _Gabe.”_

 

A growl came from the other, his short temper rising in the moment. “I _can’t_.”

 Silence.

The silence didn’t hurt as much as the cold air that passed between them. The horizon continued to lose it’s orange hue as time passed.

  
“... I’ve been planning this for a while.”

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“And I guess playing the role of a bad guy thing is part of it?”

 

“...”

 

“... You enjoy it don’t you?”

 

“...”

 

“Gabe.”

 

Another grunt. “I admit it’s… it’s kinda fun. Letting myself loose. I can get crazy. No _rules_ , no restraints. They let me do what I want— ”

In his hesitation, he glanced to Jack’s face. Unreadable. “— But that’s not my main motive.”

 

“Heh, you’re unbelievable.”

 

“Hmph. Funny, I’d think you out of all people would be the one to believe me.”

 

“... Well, you’re not wrong about that.”

 

Silences have become a habit of the day as it seemed.

 

“I’d always known you’d do things even behind my back. Just in your nature.”

 

The ghost chuckled, “And it’s in yours to understand them.”

 

“Not wrong about that either.”

 

“So just let it _be._ ”

 

“You know I can’t do that.”

 

“I know. Still saying it though.”

 

“Hah! Of course.” For the first time in a long time, Jack smiled.

 

Another wind flew between them, brushing along a flurry of light snow as the flakes began to fall in their slow motion.

 

“... Glad to know you haven’t forgotten this spot.” The silver haired man admitted, shifting his posture once more. Movement was heard beside him.

 

“How could I? The greatest moment of my life happened here, for fucks sake.” Gabriel caught himself, and almost seemed to arch into his swing as he realized his words. “Hrrnngh, but you know that just as well, yeah?”

 

Ever so suddenly, the two tear their gazes to look at one another, as if called by some force. One saw a soldier, the other a skeleton.

  
  
“It’s my favorite too.” Jack confirmed, removing his mask to reveal a soft smile he didn’t realize he wore. Au Naturel.

 

“... Aw, hell. Our looks have gone with time, haven’t they?”

 

“Came with the job. Never cared for it much. And what happened to the beauty inside, huh? Ana tells me you look worse.”

 

“That’s a certain _someone’s_ fault.”

 

“I’m trying to find them, no need to mention it.”

 

Gabriel grumbled in disagreement, but it melted away as he bore into Jack’s eyes.

 

“Your eyes save you.”

 

“Ah, do they? How kind of you.”

 

“Don’t push your _luck_ , Boy Scout.”

 

A chuckle escaped the younger man’s lips. Gabriel, upon hearing it, felt a nostalgic surge run through his shell of a heart. This surge reaffirmed why he visited the very spot to begin with.  
  
“What about you? I showed you mine. You gonna show me yours, or is Ana the only one who gets that privilege? Thought the three of us always shared stuff.”

 

“...”

 

“I’ve seen all kinds of faces, Gabe. Nothing I haven’t seen.”

 

Jack looked for something, waited, _wished_ the other would remove his mask. He didn’t care what he looked like. He missed his face.

 

“I’ll have to wait all day now?”

 

Releasing a sort of quick hiss through his teeth, Gabriel’s mask faded away into smoke, revealing a paler, heavily scarred face that Jack expected and was unexpected to see. But even through it all… his beautiful hazel eyes beamed through.

 

“...”

 

“Don’t you fucking say _shit_. I’m a walking corpse and you know it.”

 

“Ditto. But, huh, would you look at that. Your eyes save you, too.”

 

Gabriel was surprised by his statement and looked away, feeling… flush? Was that even possible for him?

 

“Always with the sappy shit, Morrison.”

 

“Seemed to take to you, didn’t it?”

 

“A damned weakness was all it was.”

 

“ _Is_.”

 

The edgy man peered back to him, analyzing Jack’s knowing smirk.

 

“... I-Is.” He reluctantly admitted, feeling very unusual.

 

And yet for what seemed like the hundredth time, another silence passes them. The sun’s rays finally hitting its final moments as it descended beneath the horizon. The soldier let out a warm breath, face stinging from the cold.

 

“... Jackie.” Ooh, that rasp in Gabriel’s voice truly was different, but still tasteful in Jack’s eyes. As such, it made hearing his nickname arousing in a way. But not as much as a sudden hand came to rest on his own. It surprised him, sure, but even the simple touch was something he’s been wanting for ages.

 

Once more, a look into each other’s eyes. The snow fell onto Jack’s hair as it did Gabriel’s hood.

 

“It’s, uh…. It’s cold.”

 

“I know, Jack. Can’t say I feel it much myself.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“... You wanna get warm again?”

 

“You bet your flat ass I do.”

 

And in an instant, the joining of longing lips commenced, Gabriel’s hood falling from the force of their collision. Jack was surprised that, despite all his physical faults, Gabriel’s lips held it’s soft texture as it did all those years ago. The familiar tingle the other’s beard would give him sent waves of yearning for more. On the other hand, Gabriel was blessed with the hankering warmth of the silver-blond’s mouth. Such talented lips against his; it sent old memories through his mind, reminding him of the other skills it had. Hot breath bounced off his cold skin, confirming that he would always choose this option rather than sitting in front of a fire.

 

The chains of the swings rattled. Breathless and hungry for more, they ravaged each other’s faces, Jack hugging the other’s neck as Gabriel’s clawed hands ran through greyed hair.  
  
This moment was theirs and theirs alone. Finally.

The sun was no more, having been replaced by the moon’s shine.

  
  
After what seemed like both an eternity and the quickest moment of their lives, Jack gave a mean shiver, and the two paused, slowly separating.

 

“Damn cold.” The soldier grunted against the other’s lips.

 

“Wouldn’t want ya to get sick out here, Boy Scout. You forgot your scarf.”

  
  
A part of Gabriel’s cloak stretched outwards and wrapped around Jack’s shoulders, forming a black cloth that was most definitely warm.

 

The gesture made the jaded man chuckle, leaning back to wipe away some small tears he didn’t realize he had. He was sure it wasn’t from the cold.

 

“Thanks. I… I missed this.”

 

Gabriel’s hazel eyes, for the first time in a long time, glistened with a longing love. “You’re too soft.” Betraying his words, a single tear fell from one of his eyes. Quickly playing it off, he blinked the others away. “I, uh… _ahem,_ I missed this too.”

 

Jack shook his head, glancing down to his glove, other fingers brushing against it. After pondering for a moment, he slowly removed the glove of his left hand, revealing a beautiful golden ring.

 

“?!” Yet another look of surprise on Gabriel’s face; yet another fallen tear.

 

“You… you kept it. After all these years.”

 

“Why wouldn’t I? You gave it to me right here after all. A promise is a promise.” Jack rubbed the ring with his thumb, remembering the greatest day of his life with great vividness.

 

Gabriel hesitated until he closed his eyes and reached into his chest area. He then pulled out the same ring attached to a chain necklace.

 

“The… The closer it is to my heart, the safer I feel it’d be. Also, I’d raise all kinds of hell if some damned asshole ripped my hand off or somethin’ and I’d lose it.”

 

“Haha! And you call me the sap?”

 

“Hmph… _si, mi coraz_ _ón_ _._ ”

 

“Ah. There you go distracting me with your tongue.”

 

“One of its many ways. Old habits die hard.”

 

Jack shook his head, grinning like a fool. “Still, it feels good. The…” He glanced back to Gabriel. “Well, you know.”

 

“Do I?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

Gabriel bore his eyes into Jack’s and without warning, he shifted himself to give a boost in carrying Jack to his feet, swirling them to a stop at the exact spot he got down on one knee all that time ago. Holding the other, Gabriel leaned his head against Jack’s forehead, and Jack, while surprised, let it happen.

 

“Do I hafta say it?”

 

“It’d be nice.”

 

“No shit.”

 

“... Well?”

 

A pause. He had to be romantic in his own way. Initiate eye contact.

 

“I love you, Jackie.”

 

Jack’s smug grin became a soft smile.

 

“See? That wasn’t so hard.”

 

“ _Jack.”_

 

“You _know_ I love you too, Gabe. Always have, always will.”

 

“You better. I never planned on falling in love, y’know. You’re the only bastard that’s done… _this_ to me. Sometimes I even... dream about you. God! What a fucking damn distraction you are.”

 

This time, Jack wrapped his hands around Gabriel, holding him close in a loving embrace.

 

“I know how that feels.”

 

“...”

 

The embrace was shared.

 

They stayed like that, once more in an endless moment, just standing in each other’s arms, sharing the heat between them.

 

“Gabe… we can’t... we can't stay like this forever.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Five more minutes.”

 

“You should really go back to wherever the hell it is you’re located. Wouldn't want them questioning where you are.”

 

“Top secret, of course.” The ghost seemed to release a kind of whine. “... But they don’t make cookies like you do, Jackie. I’ve been _dying_ for one for a while.”

 

“Gabe!!” Jack broke away, laughing hard. “I couldn't be more proud!” Corny jokes sure do bring these two together like glue.

  
  
After a moment, the smug look on Gabriel’s face died down as Jack did, especially when he realized it was time to leave.  
  
“Well. This was… nice.”

 

The two separated as Gabriel shifted away. The world felt empty again.

 

A final gaze into each other’s eyes; Gabriel’s eyes said goodbye. “I hate to say this, but the next time we meet… I may not be the same person. I might have to kill you, even though every bone in my body screams against it.”

 

“Don’t worry. Next time, I’ll be craftier. I’ll be ready.”

 

“ _Sure_  you will _..._  please.”

 

“I can also promise you that I won’t stop until I understand why it is you’re doing this. Won’t be pretty, but then again, nothing is when it comes to war.”

 

Jack thumbed at his ring finger once more, before reaching for his glove to cover his frozen hand. 

 

Soldier 76 reached to place his mask back on. “You can count on it.”

 

Gabriel gave a look of longing once more, before Reaper shifted his mask back on. He started to hover, floating towards the snow covered hedge to exit.

 

Before leaving, he made sure they exchanged one last message.

 

“Happy Anniversary, _mi amor._ ”

 

“Happy Anniversary, Gabe.”

 

And with that, it stopped snowing.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Love to hear some thoughts. Apologies for any spelling mistakes as I've written this in the dead of night and fought through some creative blocks. Happy Holidays!!


End file.
